SA thief grabbed through Apple tech sleuthing

A burglar who terrorised a small community has been caught thanks to Apple’s built-in location technology

Staff WriterJanuary 23, 2013

A South African house burglar, who terrorised the small coastal community of Vleesbaai, has been caught thanks to Apple’s device location technology.

During the festive season a burglar robbed the house of Vodacom Chief Network Officer Johan Engelbrecht, and stole the family’s smartphones, iPads and laptops.

However, the thief left behind one laptop and an iPhone which allowed Engelbrecht to locate one of the iPads through Apple’s ‘Find my iPad’ app.

Engelbrecht and his son then personally lead the police to the location of the stolen goods – and the criminal – using the “find my iPad” app. They navigated to the location using the iPhone which was not stolen.

When the police apprehended the criminal he was still busy sorting the loot which he stole from residents and holidaymakers in Vleesbaai.

Engelbrecht said that this is a great example how citizens and the police can work together and use technology to fight crime and outsmart criminals.